There's Room For a Thousand
by Sora-M-Jigen
Summary: ...any volunteers? My first Haunted Mansion fic, please read and review!
1. A Fairy's Elation and a Bride's Concern

Ok, before we get this fic started I got a few things to say. First off, this is my first real Haunted Mansion fic. I don't know how long it will be but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Second, I would love to greatly thank AquarianWolf and Werecat Boy(whose fics are major kickarse!) So I greatly thank them for their help with the 999 Happy Haunts.

Ok, without further adu, let this fic begin!

Lyndi, Rose, Ms. Tiffanty,Jacob, Adam, Gus are MINE

Stayin' Alive belongs to the Bee Gees

Just Around the Riverbend, The Bride, Master George Gracey are Disney

--

"Dear diary,

As you may or may not know...TONIGHT'S THE BIG NIGHT."

So was the first line of the black haired teen with fair skin and orange eyes. Well, not actual orange eyes, they were simply contact lenses. Her actual eye color was a bittersweet light brown. She placed her pen down on her journal and ventured over to her circle mirror that was bordered in wrought iron vines with miniature white butterflies on them. How she loved this mirror, it used to be her grandmother's before she passed away not too long ago. She brushed a few strands away from her face and started to hum 'Just Around the River Bend', while placing her hair in its' usual fashion so that it appeared that a spider was invading her many black strands. Once she was done setting the barrette in and combing her hair, she added her most favored accessory. She tied a mauve ribbon around the barrette into a bow so that it stood out from her hair.

With a sweet smile and a turn of her head she looked over at her journal again on her baby blue furniture with painted music notes and instruments. She did the designs herself. Sure, it took a good month or two but it was worth the mess. Her designs proved that she was unique and different from not only any typical seventeen year old girl but from anyone and everyone. She ran over to her journal of black lace and red hearts and resumed her entry.

"What is tonight? The NUTCRACKER! Sure it's 3:40 and I should be there in 2 hours or less but hey, time will come when it does."

She slipped into her ballet uniform for that evening. Her entire outfit was an array of different shades of purple. All majestic and lovely, like a regal dream come to life. Transparent lace came from her hips and a bit past the tutu as it glittered like snow in the sun's early light of day. She was playing the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the production of the Nutcracker, an infamous and refined dance of fantasy and beauty. A play whose every step meant everything. Meaning that there could be no mess ups or mistakes. Although she was supposed to be the Nutcracker (stated by the popular snob in the class, Ms. Tiffanty who was Clara, herself) she took on a more sophisticated lady part.

She slipped on her light lavender ballet slippers over the camouflaging pantihose and laced the shoes up to her knees while humming the catchy song. Lastly she viewed herself in the mirror once more and applied the finishing touches. She put on orchid eyeliner and above it sparkling purple mountain majesty eye shadow that would put royalty to shame. She blushed her cheeks a bit and tinted her rose petal lips a lovely romantic shade of carnation. Her delicate fingers with clear nails picked up the piece of resistance..the tiara.

Made from real diamonds that shimmered no matter where they were and according to her one friend, Lilith, the diamonds brought out her eyes. She wore this tiara not only to slip into her character but to prove that she had a higher grace and beauty than Clara and more charm than the Nutcracker himself. She looked in the nature mirror once more and smiled. Tonight was her night. In an instant hurry she ran back over to her open book of secrets and continued to write.

"Also, my crush will be there. You know who he is but I'll say it again. Adam Michael Gracey. And do you know what's awesome about him? His last name is Gracey. I often wonder if he used to live in Gracey Mansion or knows something about it..."

She looked at her snowflake theme clock with silvery snow stars and saw that she still had time to spare. Even though she promised herself she wouldn't rush she already was. She couldn't wait to start the show and end it. You see, as much as she liked ballet she disliked it. She didn't like the fact that everything had to be so precise and wished that it could be more freestyle and loose but not completely loose like dirty dancing and such. But then again, not all wishes are meant to come true. She softly sighed and sat on her bed of tangerine and marigold stripes.

Lyndi knew her single and youthful mother already went ahead to prepare for the intermission. Lyndi's mother, Rose, had been divorced only twice by two men who were rough, and were often too busy with other things. Like secret affairs and business, but mostly the secret affairs. The first husband, Jacob, ran off with Rose's cousin, Marabelle behind Rose's back. The second husband, was found in the living room, with the knife, in the prostitute's back. Ever since the two male failures, Rose was eager to meet someone new. She enjoyed meeting new people and seeing different places and trying random things sane or insane.

Lyndi decided to use the other car her mother owned. A black PT Cruiser which appeared to be a miniature limo according to Lyndi. She loved that car and hoped her mother would never give it away. It was the first car her mother had and sometimes, Lyndi wanted to be like her. To go out into the world and see things she never dreamed of before. Like the Eiffel Tower or Niagra Falls or even the Bermuda Triangle.

"But you know what's weird? Some random girl at practice told me that the recital was going to be held at the Gracey Mansion. Of course, I've never wandered those grounds. But I would like to even though some say it's haunted but if she told me that then the recital MUST be there," with that she closed her journal and locked it. Her fingertips ran over the lace and circled around a little red heart. Lyndi was never one for love but she wish she had someone to love regardless if the person was like Jacob but she wanted Adam. But how to make him notice her was the question. Adam was as popular as Captain Jack Sparrow was to the world of piracy. Lyndi was the total opposite. She sighed, only in her dreams would she, and Adam share the perfect moment.

"Wish me luck everyone," she spoke with a soft voice of serenity as she watched the eyes of the many posters of musicals and hoped they would give some sign of life. She sighed. She knew they would never be real and closed the door behind her. She grabbed a black jacket and the car keys as she closed the lights and locked the doors. She playfully raced to her only source of transportation while waving to her neighbor, Gus.

Gus was a serious, boring adult. He often bored but somehow interested Lyndi by telling her stories of his old job at Gracey Mansion. Apparently he used to be a gardener before something chased him away. He didn't know what it was but it terrified him greatly. Lyndi would always wonder what the thing was and even attempted to ask Gus but he would always silence her. As she started the car she saw Gus who was standing there in solitude now gone in a flash. How could of he had gone away so quickly? There wasn't time for questions as she clicked her seat belt across her, adjusted her mirrors, and sang parts of the song on the radio. What song was that? It was, "STAYIN' ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh break it down!"

'Surely, the Gracey Mansion CAN'T be far from here...can it?,' or so she thought. As she drove past the usual sights of her neighborhood she noticed it started to snow. She was usually entranced but horrified when it snowed. She grew terrified of the forming ice and slush and how sticky and slick everything became, especially the roads. However, Lydni, was a child at heart. Meaning that the child within adored the falling of snow. How everything seemed to look so serene and peaceful, like a sign from the seraphs above. When snow fell, she knew Heaven was on Earth, and all was somewhat tranquil. After a half hour or snow, things started to become chaotic as a gentle snowfall became a blundering blizzard. As much as Lyndi turned on the high beams, used the wind shield wipers, and changed the speed of her vehicle it came down harder and quicker. She noticed that she wasn't in her neighborhood anymore and instantly felt like Dorothy in the land of Oz. Of course she had no dog named Todo but she did have a black PT Cruiser and that was it.

From time to time she used the heater as she soon noticed one very strange thing. No one else was on the road. Maybe they knew about the blizzard? No...it would of been announced on the news. She grew elated but scared at the same time as she swore she noticed a faint light ahead. It was dim at first but it sluggishly began to grow.

"Oh great...I'm hallucinating,"she spoke in a low tone.

--

As for the light up ahead, it was real. A lonely woman in white looked onward into the blizzard's mysterious ways. Depending how it fell before her yellowed eyes, she either saw it as a white wave of chaos or an undergoing transformation to make the world beautiful like she once was. She sported a lovely antique wedding dress and her complete being emitted a chilling blue feature as it didn't seem to bother her. In fact, she had grown used to it for the eternal time she would remain. A pounding heartbeat reverberated in the dusty room but didn't make the flame of the candle she held flicker or die. From the white sea outside her room she saw two blaring lights coming from a moving object. A bit frightened by it and yet curious, she allowed herself to hover to her destination.

"George...? George," her voice held a quiet peace as she repeated the name. "Oh...where is he?! George!"

She glided through the air and hovered over the antique flooring as she searched for the man she longed to speak with. The distance banging of doors and moans didn't help her any as she turned on her heel and told them all to shut up. The response was silence and then the same noises only louder. She scowled beneath her breath as she searched for George again. At last a man with black hair as dark as the night stepped up from the shadows. His azure eyes that could freeze anyone's soul appeared as a first feature to the woman in the dress of matrimony. He stood before her in a casual but rich suit. Proving that he had welath even past his grave, after all he was the master of the Mansion. His flesh was fair but slightly pale as he bore a smile of sly ways and a haunting manner.

"Yes," he answered to her calls in a deep velvet voice that could stop a man's heart.

"Oh there you are! I just saw two lights coming towards us...something's coming!"

"Hm...very well then. We'll just have to scare it away."

"Why must you resolve everything in scaring people and things?!"

"Because my dear, Emily, I'm a ghost. It's my nature," with that he winked at her. "Tell everyone to get into positions and be ready," with a turn of his head and an intention to protect his Mansion from all things sinister he slowly disappeared. He reappeared shoulders up in his portrait in the Foyer. Emily sighed softly and went off to do as she was told.


	2. Overload

Lyndi is MINE

Madam Leota, Emily, Ezra, Gus, and Phineas belong to Disney

--

Lyndi didn't know her hallucination was a reality as she started to wonder if it was or not. As she drove she began to go slower in speed as she also noticed something else. She was running low on fuel. Now she was truly mortified as she felt her Black PT Cruiser go slower...and slower...and finally, it came to a dead stop.

"Aw baby, come on!"

She did everything to try to get her car working. She tried restarting it, hot wiring it, everything but alas, she failed. Nowhere else to go, she decided to walk onward, and see if she could find any shelter or hopefully, the Gracey Mansion. Lyndi took a deep breath and thought of the many things that could happen to her in the snowy abyss ahead. Death, fever, hypothermia, fainting, she saw them all on television from time to time. She pulled her jacket close and opened the door. A wind of blustery cold and freezing flakes threw themselves into her face as she sharply closed her eyes and ventured out into the storm. She couldn't see where she was going and allowed her footsteps and heart to take her someplace safe and warm. She hoped that the light from earlier was real as she trudged through the snow.

---

"What's taking so long,"asked a certain head of emerald encased in a crystal ball.

"Leota, why should you stop your incantations? They're already...scary and freaky enough," replied Emily. "Besides...they'll be perfect for scaring whatever the thing with two lights was..."

The one known as Madam Leota smirked at that remark as she resumed her incantations. Seriously, how could anyone think in the Mansion could believe incantations and summoning the departed is scary? Sure, it isn't quite normal but how is it scary? Leota could never figure it out. She wasn't stupid or anything it was just of the matter that she had been practicing and calling spirits ever since she was young and became fascinated with the art. She took it up and resumed it unto her dying day and even past that.

"Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween...awaken the spirits with your tambourine," the woman's head spoke loudly as somewhere in the room a tambourine rang out as if responding to her call. She smiled deviously like the Devil.

'Sometimes I just don't understand her,' Emily thought and wandered off into the rooms to tell the others about the incoming visitor.

---

Lyndi struggled to open her eyes from time to time. From what she could see the light was getting brighter and brighter as she hoped for something good to come out of this. She lost track of time but didn't care as she moved as fast as she could through the winter nightmare-land. She looked up at one point to see the faint outline of a Mansion but failed to see it's aged details. Her face bore a relieved smile as she attempted to move faster in her walk. She realized that walking in ballet shoes through the snow wasn't the greatest comfort as she brought her jacket closer to her shivering frame. She could feel her teeth chattering as she looked for more signs of the Mansion ahead. She didn't realize it until she bumped into something that she couldn't identify at first.

She forced her clamped eyes open as she brushed some of the snow away as she noticed it grew slightly colder as she heard the strangest thing. The neighing of a horse, but surely who would leave a horse out in this weather? That's animal cruelty and she knew it. Unless the owner of the horse forgot, even still it was cruel. A strong force of wind swooped down in front of Lyndi as it brushed most of the snow off the object in front of her. Her eyes widened as she saw a moving black attachment of where a horse should be connected to a black hearse. Instead, there was no horse but the attachment acted as if it were one. Only then did she realize, the horse was a ghost! Horrified her arms dropped to the sides of her body as she backed away slowly. She heard that neighing again as she found herself speechless even for a shriek. She didn't know what to do except for the one thing that came to her mind.

Run.

Run like the harsh wind that revealed her scare and never look back. Run as far and fast as she could, even try to yell for help, and hope someone would respond. And that's what she did. She ran away from the light and the outline of the Mansion as well as the invisible ghostly horse and hearse of death. Her breath was ragged and her voice was hollow like a wall with a secret passage. Terror began to burst in her veins, for it already did in her heart. She was too blind to see the white covered road before her as she tripped on a loose rock and went flying forward.

She lifted her head up a bit to see what lied ahead as a low groan emitted from her lips. In a matter of moments, everything became purely white. Her eyelids, lightly covered in makeup were brought down by the snowflakes, one by one.

---

"Who's idea was it to hitch hike tonight? Especially in a blizzard?!"

"I didn't know there was gonna be one!"

Three ghostly figures now walked through the snow with ease but since they were ghosts, the fallen snow simply went right through them. One ghost was a tall, lean skeletal figure with a derby hat. He appeared to be the leader of the group with two other forms following behind them. The second ghost in line was a rounder ghost carrying a carpet bag and wearing a top hat. What was in his bag? Only the ghost who carried it knew and when asked he would often smile in a creepy manner that made the person either scream or run without caring about the carpet bag and all of its' contents. The last figure following them all was a dwarf with a long heard and beard. However, it was slightly harder to walk through the snow like his two leading friends. This ghost wore a ball and chain that he often used to trick people in various ways.

The three of them were hitch hiking ghosts. Although their home was the Mansion they had seen exciting places before their death and yet, they wanted to see more. However, they weren't bored at the Mansion. They never were really. They just enjoyed scaring people and seeing more than just the endless hallways and corridors of doors.

"You know we woulda been fine if someone didn't tell the driver of that car we were ghosts!"

"I thought you were gonna do it like we always do!"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

The snow whipped in the wind and spun madly like the ballroom dancers in the Mansion ahead. The trio kept walking for a while, still in conversation with the same question repeated by Gus, and Ezra repeating the same response.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

Until finally Ezra decided to change his answer.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"NO!"

Gus sighed as they kept walking. Soon Phineas noticed something strange in the road ahead of them. It appeared to be a few spider legs coming up from the snowy ground. He seemed quite curious about the object and was surprised Ezra didn't notice it.Secretly though, Ezra did notice the object. He was hoping for someone else to see it so he could be assured that he wasn't hallucinating.

"Hey..guys...when did we get a spider?"

"We've always had spiders, in the Mansion...in your bag...in-"

"Ya but since when can one crawl around in the snow?"

"They can't, they die."

"Then what's that?"

Phineas pointed ahead to the uprising of the spidery wisps. It made the trio stop and think for a moment as to what the object could be. Ezra, being the leader took threw caution in the harsh winds, and neared the object. However, he noticed something. When the wind blew by them some of the snow came off of the black spidery like object. Ezra couldn't believe what he saw as he did a double take. Connected to the black spider like item (which turned out to be hair) was a mauve ribbon and the figure of a young lady in a black jacket covering up a ballerina outfit of purple, unconscious in the snow. How she got there he didn't know but his friends were appalled by the sight as well.

"How did she..wait a minute, who is she?"

"I dunno," Gus said reaching for the coat pocket of the newly discovered girl.

"GUS!"

"What? I was jokin'."

"Come on...we gotta do something..."


	3. You're NEVER Alone

Lyndi is MINE

Master George Gracey, The Ghost Hose, the portrait people are Disney

--

When Lyndi awoke she found herself on a small classic couch with a roaring, almost human like fire before her. Her soft October eyes were lazy at first but opened themselves as if on command by her brain and her want. She felt the silk of the couch beneath her and smiled a bit. At least she knew she was out of the blizzard and somewhere where she longed to be. Someplace safe and warm, with nothing to worry about.

Or so she thought.

However, she didn't know what lied ahead in the Mansion, and hoped for the best. She sat up and allowed herself to breath for a few moments. She took off her jacket and tied it around her small waist and stretched a bit. Her mind seemed to wonder if in fact this was Gracey Mansion and if it was, where was Rose? Where was everybody? Were they already starting the show? Her mind was racing with questions yet to be answered.

The room was dimly lit thanks to the cobwebbed chandelier overhead. From somewhere beyond, a funeral dirge began to play. It didn't bother Lyndi much as she listened to its' notes, slowly painting themselves in the air, and fading away at the sight of the transprent ways. In a strange way by all means unknown, she seemed enchanted by the place. As if it wove its' way in her heart and spun a spider web around it. Lyndi was usually enchanted by nature and hidden beauty of the world. However, for a Mansion in its' messy state of dust and surprises, she was drawn to it. For a weird reason chills went down Lyndi's spine as brought her arms to her chest and moved closer to the fireplace.

"How did I...what..just..," she started to ask herself questions she couldn't answer but only contemplate about. Like how did she get here in this antique but charming foyer? What happened after the black out? Why was she here? She could only hope this was Gracey Mansion and that the show hadn't started. However her mind questioned something that she never took into consideration: why would a play, as beautiful as the Nutcracker be held here? The Mansion was ancient but had secretive loveliness, like the Nutcracker himself. Maybe that was it? Lyndi didn't know as she allowed her eyes to roam the place with elated wonder and curiosity. Her eyes focused on the fireplace. From where the fire burned like passion in a dance, coals emitted a purple light that made Lyndi think if coals could do that. The detailed gate before it all seemed to cast eerie shadows on the floor that Lyndi didn't even notice. Lyndi's eyes blinked once. Twice. Then moved on. Like a tourist slowly taking in all the sights and sounds of a foreign place. Her autumn eyes finally stopped at a portrait over the fireplace.

For a split second, azure eyes met hers'. Their gaze of youth in adulthood seemed to wrap her up in a mysterious sensation of warm and cold .Fire and ice. Lyndi immediately looked away as if she were expecting someone to come from the entrance or anyone in this newfound place.

"When hinges creak in doorless chambers," she jumped at the velvety voice that spilled into the room from an unknown source. She liked the tone of the voice, dark but subtle and yet sensual in a twisted way. It made her think of vines bearing roses with thorns, sweet but sharp and very likeable by her.

"and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls," Lyndi stopped listening to the voice, completely tuning it out as she focused on something else. Something more intriguing that seem to make her heart stopped beating for just a mere second. It was those eyes. Those azure eyes of lingering and longing, they seemed to call her. They wanted her to look and not be ashamed of staring. Her head slowly turned away from watching a dark corner grow darker due to her eyes adjusting and once again meet with those observant eyes. Now she saw that they weren't floating there like a ghost in midair but connected, a part of something to someone.

She finally saw the main picture that looked down upon her. Not in vain or hatred but in an aristocratic manner. A way that reminded Lyndi that she was an outcast, a person no one would want to be with. But she couldn't stop staring. Those beautiful blue eyes made her body turn cold again as her heart raced faster than the speed of sound. Hair as dark as her own made her see what the night truly was. A splendor and terrific but wondrous thing that could bring up love or death, hate or ambition. She could feel her breath as warm as the sun as she bore a smile to cover up her astounded ways. Whoever this man was, she liked him already, and longed to meet him. Even though he was just a mere painting her mind seemed to concentrate on his looks as she took them in and never wanted them out.

This wasn't love, it couldn't of been. She didn't even know if this man was still alive or not.Of course there was always the belief of love at first sight, but love? No. No one could ever love her as unpopular and devoted to literature as she was. She had intentions of meeting this man, whoever he was. But love? Impossible for all eternity.

"Whenever candle lights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight."

A wall opened up to her on the left side of the fireplace as she stared at it for a minute. To enter would mean she would travel farther into the depths of this Mansion and make her wonder or possibly meet the identity of the man before her in frame. To leave would mean returning to the blizzard and wherever her car was. She went with the first option and walked into the next room. No sooner she did, the portrait of the man who she longed to meet change into a skeleton of pure white bones, and dark empty eye sockets. As she walked ahead, she couldn't help but to feel that she was being watched.

Lyndi entered a octagonal room where four works of art hung on the walls brightly lit by gargoyle figures who held candles in each claw. The feeling of being watched grew slightly stronger as she took in the strangely shaped room. One portrait immediately caught her eye of a woman holding a parasol. The next picture that she saw was of a stately looking man, then an old woman, and lastly a man in a derby hat. 'They must be people who live here...,' she thought and didn't even hear the wall close behind her.

"Welcome, foolish mortals, to The Haunted Mansion. I am your host. Your 'ghost' host," Lyndi wasn't one to believe in ghosts. Sure she would sometimes believe in old ghost tales and horror stories like the hook on the handle but that was just for the fun of it. She heard that deep velvet voice from just a few minutes ago chuckle as if this was all some kind of a hoax or even a joke. Lyndi kept close to herself and waited to see what the voice and this Mansion would bring.

"Our tour begins here, in this gallery, here where you see paintings of some of our guests as they appeared in their corruptible, mortal state. There's no turning back now," the voice vanished into the deftly air like a trick of magic as everything depended on the portraits now. Would they just be for observation and decoration? Lyndi didn't know as she stared at them with a smile that could warm a demon's dead heart.

The candle lights lowered themselves so that they were on the brink of light and shadow but enough to see what was happening. Slowly and certainly, the pictures began to rise, and the floor began to sink beneath her. Or was the ceiling rising and the floor staying still? Lyndi began to feel as if she were the size of an ant as she grew terrified. Only the owner of this Mansion knew as she saw the pictures unravel secrets that terrified her mind and chilled her soul.The voice returned, sending chills down Lyndi's back if there weren't any there already.

"Your cadaverous pallor betrays an aura of foreboding... almost as though you sense a disquieting metamorphosis... is this haunted room actually stretching? Or is it your imagination, Hmmm?"

The petite lady with the parasol stood over a small river with a crocodile's mouth wide open. The stately looking man was in his undergarments and standing on a keg of dynamite. Lyndi's heart slowly came to a stop as she lived through the torment and ideas that swam through her head. "Please don't die...," her voice became a frightened whisper. Then old woman sat with a deathly red rose on a grave featuring a man with an axe through his skull. Lastly, the derby hat wearing man was last to sink with his two other friends in a puddle of quicksand.

"And consider this dismaying observation... this chamber has no windows and no doors. Which offers you this chilling challenge: To find... a way OUT," the voice ended its' dramatic speech with a laugh to shake the graves and raise the dead. Lyndi could feel the atmosphere disappear as she felt like all seemed lost. She felt like she was trapped in a void of darkness and despair as she tried to block it all out. The voice returned with some terrifying advice that made Lyndi nearly scream.

"Of course, there's always MY way...", the voice boomed over her head as she looked up. Everything became as dark as a shadowy abyss as she saw hanging from the rafters was possibly the recent man she saw over the fireplace. His body was now a skeletal corpse with tattered remains of his clothing still upon him. His eye sockets were empty with a dark empty space and a devious but distant smile that could resemble the Devil's. His bones were yellowed but somehow still held a faint shade of a deathly white. Her heart sank as she attempted to get away by pressing her entire being against one of the furthermost walls. A sinister laugh became low at first but rose so that it reverberated around the entire room.

Lyndi covered her ears in mortification as the wall she was against slid open and she fell forward. In a hurry she stood up and ran for it. Not knowing where she was or where to go she ran with her eyes open and her teeth gritted to prevent any screams or noises of horror. Whatever was in this Mansion, she had to let it know that she was strong, and wasn't afraid but truthfully she was afraid. She wanted out and fast.


	4. For the Eyes

**Holy Spooks of Hell I haven't updated this fic in ages. Well, I've been in a Haunted Mansion mood lately so I've been wanting to update this. I figured I'd update this, (keep in mind I don't think this is my longest chapter) despite the fact that I have my final due Thurs., my written final on Thurs., and I'm just getting prepared for another college year. **

**That and I'm working on other fics of mine. Oi vei so much to do so little time. ^^; Nonetheless, enjoy this chapter. ^^**

**Lyndi belongs to ME  
George, Emily, all concepts belong to the Haunted Mansion/Disney**

* * *

**Chapter 4: For the Eyes**

* * *

By now, Lyndi was bolting down a long, dark hallway - horrified to think of what she had just seen and terrified of what was to come. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath as she placed her hand against a wall. Panting a bit heavily, Lyndi knew that running wasn't the best exercise especially after fainting in a snow storm. Oh well, she had to get out come high Heaven or Hell. She was already late for the recital as she silently cursed herself.

However, what she failed to notice was a faint light emitting from three portraits besides her. One portrait was of a beautiful Egyptian woman splayed out on a garnet red love seat that was adorned with a golden border and a rose similar to the one she held in her hand. Another portrait was of a grand ship sailing out to see and the final one was of a lovely Grecian woman. The peaceful portraits made Lyndi sigh in relief and smile some to see that everything wasn't terrifying in this abandoned mansion. Nonetheless, she took the opportunity to attempt to calm herself. She leaned against the wall for a moment and slowly approached the window that was adjacent to the portraits.

"God it's comin down," Lyndi spoke in a slightly soft tone. The blizzard outside had grown into a white winter nightmare as she could barely see her car. Just looking at it gave her the shivers as she rubbed her hands along her arms which had goose bumps along them both from the sight of the blizzard as well as the mansion. Lyndi had concluded that the only way out of the mansion was to keep going forward. There was no way she would return to the stretching room let alone enter the dark hallway. She knew that she would be trapped in the Foyer and even then, no one knew she was here. Maybe if she went through the mansion entirely, she would find help at the end or at least an escape.

Turning around, Lyndi's eyes widened. The portraits had came alive and changed when her back was turned. The portrait of the Egyptian woman had changed into a lethal feline with a bone in paw instead of a rose in hand. The ship's grandeur along the high seas now had torn sails with spirits emitting from the ship itself. The waters were rough just as the sky as lightening streaked down along the water. Lastly, the Grecian woman had turned into a stone Medusa with alarming eyes and a set of sharpened fangs. The change stunned Lyndi as she walked hurriedly past the portraits and soon found herself in a dizzying array of stairs. Numerous staircases loomed over her head, besides her, diagonally, and most importantly beneath her. Instantly grabbing the railing, she slowly ascended up the stairs. All the while, Lyndi tried to keep her head bowed so she couldn't be disoriented by the glowing footprints on the other stair ways.

* * *

"George," Emily spoke in a slightly gentle tone as she appeared in front of the fireplace in the Foyer. "Maybe...maybe we should stop. She really doesn't look good."

"Really," George asked in a quizzical tone. He had to admit when she was placed in the Foyer she didn't look good to begin with. However, he figured that a little fun wouldn't harm none - after all they did say laughter was the best medicine. Then again, some of the ghosts around here weren't ones for causing laughs. Mostly Madam Leota and his very blushing ghost bride. Crap. He just realized what a huge mistake he made.

Sighing to himself, George placed his head in his ghostly white hand and closed his eyes. What was he to do? He would let her escape but it was the matter that there was a storm outside. To let the teenager entire that storm would mean her death or hypothermia. Of course, the teen was not of his responsibility but then again he wasn't a cold hearted bastard. George acknowledged that she was just a teenager, she was just starting to see the world for its' beauty. She was just a child compared to the numerous living and departed souls of the world.

"I will meet her after Madam Leota's room and assure her no harm will come to her," George spoke in a gentle tone.

"George, you're a ghost. By now we've probably scared the poor thing to near insanity!"

Emily was right. If George had appeared in front of the girl he would probably terrify her more than what she already was. Yet he remembered how her soft October eyes connected with his clear sapphire ones. He didn't know her name but she was quite lovely for a teen. There was something in her eyes though that spoke the sorrows of being an outcast- someone to never be loved. Maybe, George saw...gentleness? Possibly. She looked like she wouldn't harm a fly. Maybe he would go to see her; after all, she hadn't met Emily yet and George assumed that she would be terrified of her just as she was of every changing portrait thus far. Oh God. She had yet to meet the spooks and specters. George knew he had to see her soon before anything drastic happened. The ghosts were quite playful and often tended to scare whoever roamed their halls. He just hoped that Lyndi hadn't reached the Endless Hallway yet.

Looking at Emily, he had a certain soft tone to his eyes as she felt her heart beat faster at that. George saw the heart beat faster on her chest as he smirked and snickered some.

"Emily, she didn't seem so scared of me. Perhaps if I see to her, she won't be as scared. Besides, you can scare the living daylights out of anyone," George finished with a wry smile.

"You say that about everyone," Emily responded in a dull tone.

"Yes but you're the only beautiful bride around here who can scare anyone," George responded in a sly tone causing Emily to blush and look away before her eyes met with his'. She knew George was a gentle man as well as a gracious ghost host. Maybe this girl saw the same thing she did. Giving a nod, Emily kissed George's cheek and vanished.

A few moments pass and George vanished as well.


End file.
